UT Announces Martinez Sports Center Expansion Plans

Published: June 01, 2011

The University of Tampa has announced it will undergo a two-phase expansion and
renovation project of the Martinez Sports Center that will add or renovate
57,000 square feet into multi-use classrooms, labs, faculty offices and
athletics space.

The first phase of the two-phase project will see a
second floor added to the northeast corner of the current building, which faces
N. Boulevard on the west side of the UT campus. A new building façade will be
completed to integrate the building with the rest of campus. The second phase
includes the construction of a new, two-story building that will be attached to
the southwest corner of the Martinez Sports Center.

The total cost of the
project has not yet been finalized, but it is being funded primarily by gifts to
the university along with some university resources.

Phase I --
Health Sciences, Human Performance and General Academic
SpaceStarting immediately UT will construct a second story on the
northeast corner of the Martinez Sports Center (next to and above the current
main entrance). The new and renovated space will total approximately 23,000
square feet that will contain 19 offices, eight classrooms and six labs, and
will be used primarily for general academic purposes and for the Department of
Health Sciences and Human Performance.

The center will receive a new
brick façade that is consistent with the look and style of other campus
buildings, and the main entrance will be reconfigured and updated. Phase I is
expected to be completed by early 2012. Current facilities on the first floor of
the Martinez Center will be minimally impacted.

UT President Ronald L.
Vaughn said the project will add much-needed academic space to campus while also
providing a renovation to the Martinez Sports Center.

Phase II -- Athletics, Athletic Training and ROTC
SpaceDuring Fall 2011 UT will begin construction on a two-story
building attached to the southwest corner of the Martinez Sports Center that
will house facilities for athletics, athletic training and ROTC. This space is
the former site of the Tampa Bay Community Network, and will add 34,000 square
feet to campus. The space will contain expanded athletic training and treatment
spaces, additional locker room spaces, Athletic Department offices, study rooms,
an expanded laundry and storage spaces. Selected other adjoining spaces in the
Martinez Sports Center will also be renovated.

Phase II will be completed
in the fall of 2012.

Additionally, UT’s ROTC program will be moved to new
facilities on the second floor of this space. The current ROTC building, located
just north of the Sykes College of Business, will be redesigned and renovated
for use as a general academic building.

The contractor for Phase II will
be determined.

Other Summer 2011 Expansion and Renovation
Projects

Several faculty offices around campus will be renovated due to 11 new
faculty and instructional staff positions for Fall 2011.

A new microbiology lab with instrumentation will be created in the new Cass
Science Annex.

Current nursing facilities in Walker Hall will be expanded and redesigned to
include new labs, classroom and assessment spaces. Sophisticated new simulators
and other equipment will also be added to support clinical learning and student
skill development.

Classrooms, office and lab spaces in North Walker Hall and the R. K. Bailey
Arts Studio will be renovated.

A new electron microscope research lab is being developed in the Plant Hall
science wing to support faculty/student research and learning.

A new barbecue food venue will be installed in the Stadium Center food
court, and Einstein Bros. Bagels in the Vaughn Center will be upgraded for
better selection and service.